A Penryn-based heating contractor has beaten off major international competition to form a groundbreaking new 10-year partnership with social landlord Coastline Housing, worth an estimated £3 million.
The innovative new arrangement, called Coastline HeatCare, is believed to be the first of its kind in the South West and means Blue Flame (Cornwall) Ltd has now become the first point of contact for gas and solid fuel heating enquiries for more than 2,500 Coastline households.
As well as round-the-clock breakdown cover, Blue Flame will take care of the annual servicing and safety checks carried out to the gas and solid fuel heating in Coastline homes.
The move enables Coastline customers to talk directly to a heating specialist, 24-hours a day, via a new, freephone number; helping to ensure they can book a convenient appointment, or fix a technical problem, first time.
This direct line also eliminates several stages of wasteful paperwork between the two companies, producing significant cost savings that can be ploughed back into further improving Coastline's homes and services.
Coastline Services Engineer Derek Chapman said: "We're taking a whole new approach to the way that we organise heating services, to give our customers a better level of service and reduce waste, while maintaining high quality standards."
"Our customers now effectively have a single, one-stop shop for their gas and solid fuel heating issues; they can talk straight to a specialist, book an appointment, and have the engineer arrive with a good idea of what the problem is - and hopefully fix it there and then."
Paul Smith, a former British Gas engineer who co-founded Blue Flame with Mark Bolitho in 1989, is delighted with the innovative deal.
"Coastline are a very forward thinking Company", he said. "We are pleased to be involved, and proud to wear their logo. Between us we can create a market-leading partnership that others look up to and learn from."
Blue Flame engineers are already well known to Coastline customers, having worked successfully with the landlord since 2002; however, the selection process was by no means a foregone conclusion. The multi-million-pound value of the new partnership arrangement meant the opportunity was opened to contractors throughout the European Union, and several major, international corporations took a keen interest.
Coastline staff and directors were joined by four customer representatives for the four-stage selection process, under the guidance of the Echelon Consultancy. The final stages saw Blue Flame competing against a well-known national plc.
One powerful element in Blue Flame's favour was the company's strong local connections and knowledge. All 30 Blue Flame employees were recruited locally and around a third of current staff started as apprentices.
Paul Smith explains: "Our ongoing relationship with Coastline gives us the security to accept at least two or three apprentices each year onto the five-year training programme, and it's great that we can continue to invest in skills among the local communities we serve. It works, too - our Installation Manager Duncan Impey, who oversees the installation engineers, came up through the scheme."
"We don't advertise for apprentices: the applications all come from within our existing customer base. That really helps our service: our staff know exactly where customers are coming from - because they are our customers."
Coastline HeatCare will also take the unusual step of including key suppliers Glow-worm and City Plumbing in the partnership's regular management group meetings, to ensure instant access to key parts and training, and assist in the development of new, user-friendly components.
Derek Chapman said: "It's a true partnership: the housing association, suppliers, contractors and customers working together - and we're confident that this kind of joined-up thinking will mean better results for everyone."
